What’s next for assisted living patients who say they’re being forced out of their homes?
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- KRDO13 Investigates is digging for answers after residents of The Palisades at the Broadmoor say the assisted living home is cutting ties with Rocky Mountain PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly).
According to their website, PACE is a healthcare plan for adults 55 and older.
Several residents have reached out to KRDO13, saying that those who use PACE are being forced to leave the facility. Some families say the residents impacted are facing cognitive declines, like Alzheimer's or dementia.
"Complete shock and disruption," Amy Filipiak's mother has lived at the Palisades at the Broadmoor for more than a year. She tells KRDO13 Investigates she was stunned to learn they might have to move her mother out of a place where she's gotten comfortable. "They now understand my mom. My mom now understands them. That takes a lot of time. It was a very, very hard transition for my mom to be here."
To make matters more difficult, Amy's mother has Alzheimer's.
"A move is going to be catastrophic."
Dozens of residents' family members received this letter. It reads in part that MBK and Rocky Mountain PACE couldn't reach a contract agreement due to financial reasons.
When KRDO13 Investigates reached out for a statement, MBK provided more specifics, saying;
"Over the past four years alone, frontline caregiver wages have increased by more than 30%, employee health benefits by 80%, and property and liability insurance costs have doubled."
MBK added that the facility is not shutting down and nothing will change for the other non-PACE residents.
Rocky Mountain PACE said each participant’s interdisciplinary team will help those affected with their individual needs and transition plans. When asked specifically about MBK's decision, they said, "We will remain diligent in our efforts to meet the individual needs of each participant who is impacted by this change."
Those residents on PACE do have the opportunity to stay at the Palisades at Broadmoor Park, but they would have to get off PACE and pay more than they currently do. For some, that could be a bridge too far. KRDO13 Investigates spoke to one adult son whose mother also stays at the Palisades. He said his family had to spend down hundreds of thousands of dollars to get his mother into the facility.
"We have to make sure that our people who are caregivers and our people who do have Alzheimer's, or dementia, that they don't isolate because that's very easy to do," RoseMary Jaramillo is the director for the Southern Colorado Alzheimer's Association. Jaramillo says the most important part when moving any person with cognitive decline is to make sure everyone is working on the same plan.
Jaramillo wanted to let family members know about the resources the Alzheimer's Association has available. You can find a link here.
Another place with helpful resources is the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging. That link is more all-encompassing for senior resources.
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